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Agents of Change

By Jacob Hitt

Marketers seek efficient means to communicate information to consumers that will assist them in maximizing their psychic profit. Marketing plays a crucial role in generating brand awareness and consumer demand. By conveying product information, marketers hope to influence the values of consumers to create a subjective value for a given product. For instance, according to Pete Forester (2014),

According to their own Fiscal Reports, Nike spent $3.031 billion on what they call “Demand Creation.” Nike’s a little fuzzy on what that means (marketing can be anything from a TV ad buy to a collaboration with a niche shop). According to Matt it’s “Nike-speak for ‘Advertising.'” That means that Nike spends about $100 per second on advertising. That’s right, in the time it’s taken you to read this post Nike spend about $4,000 on “Demand Creation.” (Forester)

The value created by advertising is a key aspect of owning a Nike product. If Nike did not spend money recruiting star athletes and advertising their endorsements, there would be little subjective value generated for consumers, and potentially little demand for Nike’s products.

International marketing is riskier than domestic marketing as there are numerous variables and challenges that may devastate a marketing campaign. The uncertainty associated with international business and marketing demands that in-depth research regarding the targeted international market be conducted before engaging in a campaign. For example, advertising in China is vastly different than advertising in North America. If a company from North America fails to recognize the cultural differences, a potential marketing campaign could result in failure (perhaps a marketing campaign that would have been successful domestically). However, a successful advertising campaign may result in the product being demanded internationally and may also influence international cultures.

Eastern countries are influenced by western advertising and culture and vice versa. For instance, McDonald’s restaurants are located all over the world, from the United States to China. When McDonald’s engaged in advertising, they undoubtedly infused domestic Western culture into their restaurants’ appeal. For example, according to Wally Griffith (2008),

The company opened the first drive-thru outlet in November, 2005 and Schwartz says it’s been “very, very successful. (It’s a first) for anywhere at all in China,” he said. “Drive through was a brand new concept anywhere in China. In fact, drive-through was such a new concept in 2005, that many Chinese didn’t know how to use it.”

But companies accessing international markets must adapt to foreign cultures in order to thrive and connect with the new markets they are trying to access. It is important to relate with the consumer in order to convince the consumer that they value and demand the product.

Marketers play a key role in changing the values of consumers by introducing them to new information conveyed through marketing. While some look at marketers and advertising with disdain, they play an important and valuable role for both consumers and producers in domestic and international markets. It is important to recognize cultural differences and seek opportunities presented through cultural difference. Companies face new challenges by expanding internationally and must overcome increased uncertainty and risk. However, marketers can create market demand to vastly more consumers by tapping international markets such as China.

In 2015, the World Bank purposed a goal of eradicating extreme poverty by the year 2030. Now that 2030 is approaching, it is time to reflect on the goals of the World Bank and determine if this goal has been met. Was this goal realistic? If the World Bank eradicated extreme poverty, how was it accomplished? If the goal was not achieved, what prevented it from being accomplished? Utilizing the economic way of thinking provides humble and valuable insights to these important questions.

If we employ the economic way of thinking, we will understand the goal of eradicating extreme poverty cannot realistically be achieved by a bureaucratic organization such as the World Bank. However, extreme poverty may be alleviated through unconstrained access to free markets. Bureaucratic organizations are plagued with perverse incentives and inefficiency. Also, it is impossible for the World Bank to know the values of individuals entrapped in extreme poverty. Worse, individuals receiving assistance have minimal channels to relay feedback to the World Bank, a systemic problem associated with top-down planning.

The employees of the World Bank face perverse incentives to make over-ambitious goals in order to earn approval and recognition, an incentive that is exemplified by the objective of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. The individuals who purposed this objective will receive praise for such well-intentioned, noble ambitions. However, in 2030 these individuals will not be held accountable when their over-zealous goals fall short and are plagued with unintended consequences, a symptom of the planner’s problem. The real victims of this systemic dilemma are the individuals suffering in extreme poverty who receive assistance that may decrease their standard of living, assistance that was intended to raise their standard of living.

Genuinely humanitarian, well-intentioned actions can inflict unintended adverse consequences on impoverished individuals. A relevant example of this dilemma is demonstrated by developed countries donating medical equipment to developing countries. While the idea of donating medical equipment seems altruistic, when applying the economic way of thinking, it may not be ideal for assisting impoverished individuals. For instance, the hospital workers may not have appropriate training to work the medical equipment, or they may lack access to the necessary complementary goods to maintain operational machines (e.g., batteries). These medical machines that were a valuable product to developed countries become a negative externality to impoverished countries, as unusable machines occupy scarce space that could be used for additional patients. As noted by Laura Blue (2012),

If they have secondhand or excess medical equipment, many donors assume that, as long as it’s in good condition, it can be useful in settings that lack the equipment — not realizing that lack of resources can extend to basic infrastructure needed for operation. (Report: Why 40% of Donated Medical Equipment Goes Unused in Poor Countries, para. 4)

This exasperates the suffering of impoverished individuals while the central planner’s intention is humanitarian assistance and alleviation of suffering. This epitomizes the planner’s problem, and exemplifies the harm that is generated from top-down planning and disregard for the values of impoverished individuals.

Eradicating extreme poverty will require bottom-up development and more importantly, the ability to immigrate freely. By moving to a developed country with strong institutions, supported and reinforced by government, individuals experiencing extreme poverty can raise their standard of living by multitudes. They may also raise the standard of living of their extended families’ through remittances, which have been proven to have a greater impact than foreign aid. Remittances facilitate bottom-up development, allowing impoverished individuals to allocate remittances to their highest value return. Countries plagued with extreme poverty typically suffer from corrupt governments that prevent institutions from being established and hinder bottom-up development. By preventing individuals from leaving poverty-plagued countries, it sustains the number of individuals subject to government extortion, potentially propping up parasitic governments and facilitating extreme misery and poverty.

An empirical example highlighting the power of immigration is illustrated by the recent Haitian earthquake; the United States Government adopted a policy that granted “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) to Haitian immigrants. According to Dilip Ratha (2010),

Haiti receives between $1.5-1.8 billion in remittances each year (some estimates are even larger, over a half of its national income). If the TPS resulted in a 20 percent increase in the average remittance per migrant, we would expect an additional $360 million remittance flows to Haiti in 2010! What is more, if the TPS were to be extended once beyond the currently stipulated 18 months… additional fund flows to Haiti would exceed a billion dollar over three years. (Helping Haiti through migration and remittances, para. 2)

It is this type of policy that will help end extreme poverty, a policy the World Bank has little responsibility in constructing. However, the World Bank recognizes the benefits of immigration and the superior amount of wealth generated by free markets relative to humanitarian assistance. Instead of allowing the free transportation of capital (e.g., medical equipment), the World Bank should sanction the free flow of labor to alleviate the suffering experienced by individuals in extreme poverty.

Another key to reducing extreme poverty is increasing economic freedom. Poverty is a basic state of nature and is alleviated through production. The end goals should be to empower individuals in poverty to determine their own values and take control of their lives, not to enforce a theory of what their values ought to be. It is necessary to restrict government involvement in social wealth transfer programs and return the responsibility to private individuals and charities. Henry Hazlitt rightfully proclaims (1970),

The solution to our problems is not more paternalism, laws, decrees, and controls, but the restoration of liberty and free enterprise, the restoration of incentives, to let loose the tremendous constructive energies… (p. 220)

When individuals are empowered by economic freedom, they find the most efficient manner to increase their output and maximize their value.